Maccabi Haifa Getting Closer to Title

After a 2-0 victory over the inept Maccabi Tel Aviv in August, Maccabi Haifa is now in firm control as the Premier League’s playoff winds down.

In fact, Elisha Levy’s team is now merely one win away from wrapping up the Premier League Championship.

Haifa received a big boost earlier in the day, when Reuven Atar’s youngsters on Maccabi Netanya scored a late goal to draw defending champion Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-2.

This was followed by two lightning quick goals to take the lead in the second half thanks to a superb effort from striker Toto Tamuz.

Unfortunately, Hapoel’s Swiss cheese defense let the team down.

Nevertheless, the team nursing a 2-1 advantage, Netanya forward Sergiy Tretyak received a pass off of a free kick while he was unmolested in front of the Hapoel net.

Tretyak took this opportunity to blast a drive past a helpless Vincent Enyeama to even the score and to quiet the stunned Hapoel crowd at Bloomfield.

Now, Netanya will have a chance to spoil the chance of Hapoel’s rival for the Premier League championship. If Atar’s club draws or defeats Maccabi Haifa, it would grant Hapoel Tel Aviv another shot at closing the gap and a chance at mounting a comeback to take first place.

But a Haifa victory would bring the league title back up north, a satisfying result for a fan base whose heart was broken last season when the team lost the championship by virtue of Hapoel Tel Aviv’s last minute goal to top Beitar Jerusalem.

“We started the match very well,” Hapoel Tel Aviv coach Eli Guttman said. “We applied pressure and we played against a good team that has proved its worth this season. We just couldn’t score goals, but we came with the same determination to start the second half. We let in [the second goal] because of a lack of communication between the defenders.”

So if you’re sick of hearing about conflict in the Middle East that has to do with borders and regulations, stay tuned for the conflict between Covenant soccer teams.